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Moving quickly after the preferred candidate withdrew from the race to become the next chief of West Midlands Fire Service, the Fire Authority announced today that Simon Tuhill has accepted its offer to lead the service.
Tuhill is currently Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service. He said that the offer of the role at WMFS was ‘truly to good to turn down.” He was approached after Warwickshire chief Ben Brook decided not to make the move over the border and decided to stay in his home service.
He said it was an honour to take on the role but acknowledged the “difficult circumstances” that the service has faced adding that he was “well placed to lead the service through this current period of uncertainty.” Both the interim Chief Fire Officer and the Chair of the Fire Authority resigned in the last few weeks leaving a leadership vacuum in the West Midlands.
Coming from Northamptonshire, where the fire and rescue service was moved from the defunct county council to a new model of governance under one of the first Police Fire and Crime Commissioners, Tuhill is no stranger to challenging political environments.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has been through the mire in the last year with the sudden departure of the former Chief Fire Officer, Mark Jones in July 2023 and the controversy over the interim appointment of Nikki Marzec, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s former office manager. Tuhill led the service as interim Chief Fire Office during these periods and until the appointment of its current chief Nikki Richards, who joined the service in May after a long career in policing.
The Fire Authority commended Tuhill’s “formidable portfolio of experience” built from his time in Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and from 22 years in London Fire Brigade which he joined in 1998.
“I’m so excited to work in such a diverse and vibrant place as the West Midlands. Having been based in similar diverse parts of our capital city during my time in the London Fire Brigade, I know how important the fire service is in helping keep the most vulnerable in society safe, and the special connection we have with our communities is something I cherish and will continue to champion.
“I know there are a range of challenges facing the service in the coming months, I look forward to working with the Home Office and Local Government Association to help improve oversight and scrutiny”.
CFO Simon Tuhill, West Midlands Fire Service.
The appointment will be ratified by West Midlands Fire Authority on 25th November.
The Fire Authority also published a letter dated 7 November, from the Fire Minister confirming that a Best Value inspection will take place to look at the governance of West Midlands Fire Service.
Read more about the background to this story: Dysfunction grows in West Mids as fire chief issues vote of no confidence in fire authority and ‘We are one team’ says new West Midlands fire chief as he speaks about his first seven weeks in post.
